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“Last year...” My sister thinks on this for a moment. “It wasn’t Conner.” Realization dawns on her face.

Charlotte shakes her head, unable to meet my sister’s eyes.

“You lied to me... For over a year.”

“I’m so sorry...” Charlotte’s chin quivers, her eyes brimming with tears. The sight makes me feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach, all the air leaving my lungs in an instant. “I wanted to tell you. So many times, I almost did.”

“Then why didn’t you? Did you really think I would care? That I would stop you?”

“It’s my fault.” I step forward. “I asked her not to tell you.”

“Why?” Her voice echoes off the walls around us.

“Because it was just a few short months after Summer and Leo, and you were finally starting to find your footing again. I didn’t want to encroach on your friendship with Charlotte. I knew how badly you needed her.”

“What a load of horse shit,” she spits, surprising both me and Charlotte with her words. “Get out.” She turns toward Char, who rears back in confusion. “I need to speak to my brother... Alone.”

Understanding crosses Charlotte’s expression and she nods only once before slipping on her sandals and heading for the door, not once looking back at me as she does.

My sister waits until the door closes behind her before giving me her full attention.

“How could you?” She swipes angrily at the tear that sneaks past her lashes. “Charlotte?” She points toward the door she just exited through. “Of all the women in the world, it had to be her.”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“Do you love her?”

“What? No.” I shake my head, but the word tastes bitter on my tongue, like my body knows it’s a lie even if my brain won’t accept it.

“So you’re just, what, using her for sex?”

“I’m not using her for anything. She’s the one who came onto me, not the other way around.”

“Oh, poor you. A beautiful girl came onto you.” She rolls her eyes, her hands fisted at her sides. “You lied to me.” The words are so soft on her lips I almost don’t hear them.

“I know...”

“You, River... The person I trusted more than anyone.Youlied to me. Why?”

“I told you—”

“Don’t you dare blame this on Summer and Leo. How could you possibly think you’d be protecting me by doing the same thing they did?”

“This is not the same.”

“A lie is a lie, no matter the circumstances.”

“What do you want me to say, Lyric? That I met Char and I was instantly attracted to her? I was. Do you want me to tell you that we spent months talking, getting to know each other, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know? That I tried to end it when I started to feel something... That she’s made it impossible for me to walk away?” I run a frustrated hand through my hair. “Would any of that make it better?”

“Did you think I would care? Did you truly think I would stand in your way, to the point that you not only lied to me, but you convinced my best friend to lie to me too?”

“I just... After Leo, you were so... broken. I didn’t want to do anything to set back all the progress you had made.”

“You’re still lying.”

“No, I’m not.”

“This has nothing to do with me. And you know that, even if you haven’t admitted it to yourself yet. This has everything to do with keeping a barrier between you and Char. You used me as an excuse to keep her from getting too close. You knew as long as there were lies between you that you’d be able to keep her at arm’s length.”